Outdoor motion picture projection apparatus



March 8, 1960 P. J. coRso 2,927,351

. OUTDOOR MOTION PICTURE PROJECTION APPARATUS Original Filed Oct. 6,1950 2 sheetspsheet 1 5? Z q w r W 47' g 4a 41 58) 1 II T54 I 1 l1 1NVEN TOR. PH DJ) R O QTTORNEYS March 8, 1960 J CQRSQ 2,927,351

OUTDOOR MOTION PICTURE PROJECTION APPARATUS Original Filed Oct. 6, 19502 Sheets-Sheet 2 R I N V EN TOR.

PHIL; P a 31 O aw 109 M TTORNEY United States Patent OUTDOOR MOTIONPICTURE PROJECTION APPARATUS Philip J. Corso, Arlington, Va.

Original application October 6, 1950, Serial No. 188,783,

now Patent No. 2,742,816, dated April 24, 1956. Divided and thisapplication January 13, 1956, Serial No. 558,959

1 Claim. (Cl. 201.12)

This invention relates to picture projection apparatus and particularlyconcerns outdoor motion picture projection apparatus which may be usedin varying conditions of external light. a

This is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 188,783,filed October 6, 1950, now Patent No. 2,742,816, for Picture ProjectionApparatus.

In an outdoor theater, a projection screen directly exposed to daylightcannot produce a distinct image because the daylight eliminates theshadows which define the image projected on the screen. With theimproved efficiency of a translucent screen embodying the inventiondisclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 188,783, now PatentNo. 2,742,816, a greater external light is permissible.

A major object of the invention is to provide outdoor picture projectionapparatus with an adjustable light shield so the exposure of the screenmay be reduced during daylight hours without curtailing the theatercapacity after dark.

In the attainment of this object, an important feature of the inventionresides in the arrangement of alight shield with its top and bottomextending horizontally outwardly from the top and bottom of the screenand extending laterally beyond the sides of the screen with side wallsof the same height as the screen hinged to the side of the screen sothey may swing to different oblique angles relative to the screen andthereby vary the exposure of the screen to external light and at thesame time vary the field of view.

Another feature resides in the arrangement of forwardly diverging sideshields spaced from the sides of the screen.

Still another feature resides in the arrangement of a light-tighthousing with rearwardly diverging walls, the screen closing the upperportion of the front of the housing and a front wall closing theremainder of the front; a projector being positioned below the bottom ofthe light shield to project through the front wall rearwardly onto areflector at the rear of the housing.

Other objects and features of the'invention will become apparent fromthe following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

Fig. l is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of outdoor motionpicture apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1and 2; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of one of the pivoted sideshields showing the guide rails therefor.

\ As shown in the drawings, this apparatus has a lighttight housing ofrectangular cross-section formed by rearwardly converging floor 41 androof 42 with rearwardly converging side walls 43 and 44. The smaller endof this light-tight housing is closed by a rear wall 45. The

2,927,351 Patented Mar. 8, 1960 upper portion of the front end of thelight-tight housing is closed by translucent screen 46 embodying theinvention disclosed in my aforementioned application Serial No. 188,783,now Patent No. 2,742,816. The lower portion of the front end of thehousing is closed by a front wall 47. This wall 47 is provided with anaperture 48 through which rays from a projector (not shown) may bedirected rearwardly through the lighttight housing onto a reflector 49at the rear of the housing from which the rays are reflected onto therear of the screen 46. The screen 46 has its outer face protected by alight shield. This light shield is composed of a bottom 51 extendingupwardly from the bottom edge of the screen 46 and the top edge of thefront wall 47. This bottom 51 extends laterally beyond the sides of thescreen 46. The top 52 of the light shield extends horizontally forwardlyfrom the top of the screen 46 and extends laterally beyond the sides ofthe screen 46 in the same manner as the bottom 51. Hinged to one side ofthe screen 46 as by hinges 53, 53, is a door 54 of the same height asthe screen and of a width corresponding to half the width of the screen.A similar door 55 is hinged at 56, 56, to the other side of the screen.If desired, to support the weight of these doors for free movement,arcuate rails 57 and 58 may be suspended from the top 52 of thelight-tight housing in the manner shown in Fig. 4. As there illustrated,the rail 58 is of l-beam formation and the door 55 is cut out at itsupper end to accommodate the rail. Rollers 61 and 62 are carried byshafts 63 and 64 supported on the door 55 by brackets 65 and 66.

With this compact arrangement, pictures are directed from the projectionbooth below the bottom 51 of the light shield through aperture 48 in thefront wall 47 onto the reflector 49 and then onto the rear of thetranslucent screen 46. During daylight hours, the doors 54 and 55 arearranged at a relatively small oblique angle with respect to the screen46. During the evening and into the night, the angular position of thedoors may be increased as a necessity for shading the screen decreases.In this way the capacity of the theater is increased, because with theimproved screen of this invention, the lack of distortion permitssatisfactory viewing of the screen from a side position. Thus, duringdaylight hours, the exposure of the screen is reduced, whereas, asdarkness descends, the exposure of the screen and capacity of thetheater are increased by gradually swinging the doors outwardly togreater oblique angles with respect to the screen. When the pictureprojection apparatus is not in use the doors may be closed over thescreen to protect the screen.

While the foregoing description and accompanying drawings relate topreferred embodiments of the invention, it is expected that theseembodiments may be modified without departing from the invention so thisspecification and the drawings are intended to illustrate the inventionbut not to be interpreted in a restrictive manner.

What I claim is:

In outdoor motion picture projection apparatus, a translucent screen, afixed horizontal hood wider than said screen extending forwardly fromthe top thereof, a fixed horizontal stage wider than said screenextending forwardly from the bottom thereof, a pair of doors of the sameheight as said screen extending from said stage to said hood, hinges atopposite sides of said screen supporting said doors on vertical axes,arcuate rails on said hood concentric with the hinge axes of said doorshaving horizontal flanges spaced beneath said hood, and rollersrotatably mounted at the tops of said doors resting on said flanges forsupporting the free ends of said doors on said rails so said doors maybe closed over the front of said screen and opened to different.selected 2,226,618 Kuppenbender Dec. 31, 1940 oblique angles relative tosaid screen. 2,342,874 Links et a1 Feb. 29, 1944 2,617,328 StablefordNov. 11, 1952 References Cited in the file of this patent 2,651,234COI'SO et a1 Sept. 8, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 1,200,845 JohnsonOct. 10, 1916 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,134,123 Heam Oct. 25, 1938' 532,528France Nev. 16, 1921

